NieR: A New Beginning
by aWildSheepChase
Summary: Along with Yonah, Kaine seeks out the help of old friends in order to defeat a new rising evil. Original story. Takes place after Ending D.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Are you... Are you crying?" Yonah asked in wonder.

"Yeah I... I guess I am..." Kaine admitted quietly.

Yonah reached out a soft, slender hand towards the woman standing at her side; Kaine managed to smile at the girl as she grasped her hand. They stood silently together for several minutes, quietly gazing at the rising sun, overlooking the mountains.

"I should probably get you home now, right...?" Kaine said at last. "Don't you have a family waiting for you?"

Yonah closed her eyes in thought. After a moment, she opened her eyes and shook her head, her voice coming out in a whisper, as if she herself could not believe it. "I live alone..."

"Well that's a relief..." The woman laughed softly.

"It is...?" Yonah's eyes opened wide. Perhaps with fear, or hope; it was hard to tell.

Kaine stopped herself from explaining. Uncertainty clouded her mind; she pulled free from the girl's hand and thought quickly to herself. Why did she feel such a powerful urge to protect this child? Was it really her responsibility? It must be... Why else would they be here...? But then, who was the man she kept seeing in her mind's eye...?

Kaine looked over at the girl and nodded. "Yeah...If memory serves me right, then I don't have any place to call home." She wrapped her arms around herself instinctively. " If you want, I could-"

"You could stay there with me!" Yonah finished quickly. "Oh, would you?" The girl walked over to Kaine and gestured with her hand for the woman to bend down. Kaine obeyed, then watched in awe as the girl gently weaved the Lunar Tear back into Kaine's hair.

"..." Kaine took the girls hands into hers. "Thank you, Yonah..."

"Thank you for saving me." Yonah replied.

"Don't mention it." Really. Kaine felt it was best not to remember the duel she had within herself with the Black Scrawl- a disease which now seemed to have vanished... Wait a second- "Are you feeling... all right...?" Kaine asked.

"Hm?" Yonah gave Kaine a nod. "Yes, I feel great. Better than I have in a long while. My cough is gone, too!"

"That's good. I'm glad to hear it... Now come on; lets go home..."

"Together?" the girl inquired.

"Yeah. Together..."

Once the duo had descended from the Shadowlord's tower, it was up to Yonah to lead them back home to the village. Full of freedom and sunshine, Yonah twirled as she walked and laughed as she danced, feeling so much live within herself now that the Black Scrawl had been cured. But sometimes her voice would crack; sometimes she would stumble: The memory of her father teased at the corners of her mind like the ghost; transparent, but deadly. She made no mention of the ghost to Kaine as they walked down the mountain path. Instead, Yonah spoke about the sea.

"I've always wanted to go to the Seafront, but I always stayed indoors because I didn't wnt to get anyone sick with my disease."

"Heh...I know what you mean..." Kaine brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, watching the girl climb onto a rock and balance there on one foot.

"Ta-dah!" Yonah cried. "Look at me! I'm like a ballerina!"

Kaine smiled. "It's been a long time since I heard that word... That's a word way before your time." Kaine walked over to Yonah and silently helped her jump off the rock. "Where did you learn about them? Did someone teach you?"

"No, I read about them in a book. We have a library- I mean... There's a library in the town I live in..."

"I've never really cared for books, but-" Kaine broke off in a gasp, stopping in her tracks. Weiss... Had he been defeated as Emil had...? And what about Nier-

"Kaine, look what I found!" The woman trotted over where Yonah squatted next to a cluster of tiny white flowers on the side of the cliff. Yonah pointed. "If you look really close, you can see ants gathering nectar..."

"Ants...?" Kaine knelt down and peered closely at the flowers; sure enough, black little dots swarmed the center of the flowers. But these did not look like ants. There was something sinister about them; she could almost see a cloud of darkness leak out from the flowers like a factory.

The girl leaned forward and breathed in the scent. "They smell so nice!"

"Yonah!" Kaine got to her feet, grabbing Yonah by her shoulder roughly, pulling her away. But once Kaine let the girl go, Yonah crumpled to the dirt, her mouth lolling open, eyes twitching, burning. "God damn it!" Kaine slung the girl over her shoulder and sprinted away from the flowers just as the black smoke expanded, swirling in the form of daggers through the sky; they had just barely managed to escape.

Kaine did not stop running until she crossed the bridge and felt grass beneath her shoes. She laid the girl down carefully and scanned her surroundings. The land was pleasant and clean; the very earth seemed to glisten from the morning dew. Up ahead Kaine spotted a herd of ram. One of them bleated. The woman stood straighter and took a few deep, patient breaths. "Calm down, damn it..." She chided herself.

On the ground, Yonah stirred, her body visably more relaxed. Kaine knelt down at her side, a trembling hand reaching to stroke the girl's head. "Please be okay..."

The girl's eyes opened; a piercing, almost yearning gaze. "Oh, it's..." Yonah sat up, rubbing her eyes. "It's only you..." Her voice was full of sorrow as she continued. "I had thought, that...that maybe you were... I just thought-"

"Hey. Get a grip on yourself, all right?" Kaine told the girl gently, but firmly. "You're starting to make me sound insignificant." The woman sighed, then said, "Look, that flower back there was dangerous. It was toxic, and you could have been seriously hurt... "

Yonah sat still and listened. "Okay, Kaine. I'll be more careful."

As Kaine met the girl's eyes, she knew they both had the same thought: As far as they were concerned, they were the only ones left alive: they only had each other.

"Can you stand?" Kaine asked. Yonah nodded and stood up with ease. The woman stood up as well and began walking. "Let's go... We need to start looking for shelter."

Yonah walked swiftly at her side. "Shelter? From what?"

"I don't know." replied Kaine. "This kind of evil hasn't been named yet..."

"You mean the flower?"

"Yeah. I've never seen nature act that way..."

They walked through the grass, approaching the rams which seemed to be happy to see them. Politely, Kaine and Yonah tried to walk around them, but the animals formed a circle and closed them in.

"K-Kaine...?" Yonah took Kaine's hand, but Kaine jerked her hand free, drawing out her two long blades in a fluid, practiced motion.

"Back OFF!" shouted Kaine. The rams shuffled closer, soft noses oozing red snot onto their clothes. Their eyes, enlarged and coal-black, steamed with smoke from within. One of the rams thrashed it's head, the tip of it's horn grazing Yonah's chest. The child opened her mouth and let out a scream of terror.

Abandoning one blade, Kaine grabbed Yonah's arm and pulled her close, using her other blade to slice cleanly through the necks of several rams. At her right, a ram lurched forward with an unnatural force; Kaine lifted a leg and kicked it away, the arm around Yonah tightening; she would never let Yonah come to harm. Never.

Screaming, the woman spun on her toes, lashing out with her sword in a wild frenzy until a path was made. "Run, Yonah! Go! I'll be right behind you!" Kaine pushed the girl ahead, but she refused to move. ("Run, Yonah! Hurry!") But it wasn't out of fear as Kaine suspected, but out of love that she stayed; tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Yonah bent down and picked of Kaine's other sword. In both hands, the girl wielded this weapon boldly, stabbing and swinging at random

"You idiot..." Kaine smiled. Just like her father... Kaine gasped. Father...? But who-

"Kaine, watch out behind you!" Yonah cried.

Kaine turned swiftly, swinging her sword just in time to send a ram's insides spilling out onto the grass. Yonah ran over and stood at Kaine's back. "We're doing this together!" the girl told her firmly. "You saved my life, and now it's time I return the favor!"

"Heh... Fine. Go for it." Kaine couldn't help the grin that crossed her face; just feeling Yonah pressed to her back made her feel more empowered. Even if the girl couldn't hold a sword right, Kaine still felt like they were an unstoppable force.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Once the rams had been elimiated, the two girls, breathless and blood-stained, made their way to the west gate of village. The gate itself appeared shut at first, but upon closer inspection, they noticed it was slightly ajar. They passed through the opening and closed the gate behind them, not wanting anything from the outside to come in.

The village itself was just as Yonah remembered it to be. She pointed out the old library on the hill, the courtyard near the pigsty; she lead a tour through the empty marketplace and together they ransacked taverns and butcher shops for food. As the day crept on into late afternoon, Kaine absently picking at a lyre while Yonah threw copper coins into a fountain, the duo jointly decided to go to the library. However, on their way there Yonah stopped walking and started running off towards a little house on the hill.

"Yonah, wait!" Kaine ran after the girl.

Yonah tripped and fell, then scrambled up and ran even faster. She ran to the house and went inside, banging the front door wide open. What was it that was making the girl act this way? A memory, perhaps...? Kaine slowed down her steps, tension hanging in the air like the cobwebs in the house. "Yonah...?"

In the first room was the kitchen, a daybed, and a stairway. Everything in the house was coverd in black dust. Was it toxic? Kaine put a hand over her mouth and hurried up the stairs. They shouldn't be here... "Yonah?" She entered the upstairs, finding only a bedroom- with Yonah sitting on the bed, holding a book.

"K-K...Kaine...?" Whispered Yonah, biting her lip, tears running down her face; tears which cleaned her face of the gently falling soot.

Realizing the dust was not harmful, Kaine lowered her hand, then walked over and opened a window to let in some fresh air. She then turned and sat down next to the girl. "What'd you find there...? Some kind of book?" asked Kaine kindly.

Yonah nodded. "It's...It's my diary. In the book, it mentions that I have a father... But I... I can't remember what he even looks like...!" Yonah cluched the book tightly and began to cry. "Wh-when I saw this house I thought of him, but now I can't- I don't understand... If he exists, then why isn't he here, Kaine...?"

"I can't answer that..." Kaine sighed. "Just know this; Life can be a real bitch sometimes."

Yonah stood up, wiping her eyes with an arm. "This is where I grew up; this house is my home."

Kaine stood up as well and gave the room a good look. "...It seems very home-y."

"What do you think happened to the others...?"

"You mean the people in the village?"

"Yeah..."

Kaine shook her head. "I hate to say it, but it could be that the Black Scrawl put an end to humanity- that, or this new disease which seems to effect animals and plants. Either way, I'm sick and tired of all this..." She gestured uselessly out the window. "...I just wish things would go back to normal- whatever that is..."

"Oh, Kaine! The library!"

"Yeah? What about it?"

Yonah hugged the diary to her chest. "We might be able to find answers there. Books on toxic plants, or diseases in domestic animals that make them go crazy."

This kid is smarter than she looks. Kaine smiled and nodded. "Looks like we have a plan. Good idea, Yonah."

Yonah laughed in a way that made Kaine's heart sink; living off of hopes and dreams could only last for so long: This girl was just barely surviving.

Once Kaine and Yonah stepped outside, they abscently went their own ways; Yonah wandered over to the terribly neglected garden at the side of the house, while Kaine went over to the red mailbox and checked for any letters. To her surprise, she found one.

"Yonah," she called, her voice swallowed by the silence of the town. "There's a letter for you." Kaine turned and walked over to the girl who ran to meet her.

"Who is it from?" asked Yonah.

"Beats me; open it." Kaine said, urgently. She was not the type of person who would open someone else's mail, but something about the letter screamed Important.

Yonah tore open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She started to read as followed:

Dear Yonah, If my friends were sucessful in rescueing you, then you're probably back at home, right? I am writing to you personally this time because I fear Sebsation has taken ill... I wish to warn you; There is a new danger lerking around and I don't like it. It seems to affect flowers and animals. So avoid these at all cost! I hope you and the others are safe: Kaine, Weiss... Have you met them, Yonah? I must go now. Please be careful. - Emil

"Why... This is the same boy that wrote to me three years ago..." Yonah breathed. "Why would he contact me after all this time?"

"Emil's alive...?" Kaine breathed out, having read over the girl's shoulder. "Emil..." She felt tears well into her eyes. His sacrifice had not been in vain; she had to be sure to tell him that. Kaine grabbed Yonah's hand and started back down to the marketplace.

"Ouch! Kaine- wh-where are we going?"

"Sorry-" Kaine let the girl's hand go. "If we're going to meet up with Emil, we need to be ready this time to face any threats we come across."

"You mean we're preparing for war...?" Yonah asked quietly.

Kaine laughed softly. "Nope. It means we're going shopping." She lifted a long slender leg and kicked open the door to the blacksmith's store and walked right in.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Once Kaine and Yonah suited themselves up with ill-fitting armor- a silver breast plate for Kaine, chainmail for Yonah- Kaine lead the way to the library.

"But I thought we were going to see your friend Emil." Yonah said, her diary tucked under her arm.

"Emil's kind of a book worm." Kaine replied. "If these books have answers, then Emil will be able to find them faster."

"Okay," Yonah followed Kaine up the stairs. "I trust you."

"It's not a matter of trust," Kaine replied, walking up to the front door. "I just don't want to spend all day looking." Kaine opened the door and held it for the girl to enter. Inside, bodies of the dead laid around piles of books. The shelves were nearly empty; books were torn and thrown all over the floor, useless to the bodies that reached for them. There was no question where the villagers had disapeared to; they had come here to seek out a cure- and died trying.

"Oh no..." whispered Yonah.

"My god..." Kaine breathed.

"All those people..." Yonah continued. "Are we going to end up like them...?"

Kaine shook her head quickly. "Like hell we are. Come on; start looking for books on medicine."

Yonah walked over to one of the shelves, finding it nearly barren. She picked up one of the books and flipped through it. Several of the pages had been torn out. It made the girl sad. She started to close the book when a flat green plant fell out from between the pages. Curious, Yonah bent down and picked it up. The plant had a narrow stem with four rounded leaves close together at the top. She could not identify it.

"Kaine, what is this?" Yonah asked, turning.

Kaine looked up from the book she was reading. "Bring it to me." The girl obeyed. Kaine carefully took the plant and examined it. "It's a clover." Kaine answered at last, handing it back to the girl. "The four leaves mean you're lucky."

"I'm...lucky...?" Yonah frowned slightly. Was that true? Was she lucky to have lost memory of her father? Was she lucky to have been a slave for the Shadowlord? No. She had been misfortunate; it was only now that she could count her blessings. Yonah smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am lucky. I mean... Despite all that has happened to me, at least I got to meet you."

Kaine turned away from the child's hopeful gaze, pretending instead to read. She wasn't used to all this mushy-talk, especially when directed to her. "Try not to get distracted; we need to keep looking."

"Okay." Yonah pocketed the four-leaf clover and headed towards a stack of books in the floor. A man laid near the stack, his body half-way decomposed, his skeletal hands clenching a book. Yonah decided to take the book he was holding; surely it was important if the man died holding it...? Yonah took hold of the binding and yanked it free, falling back onto the cracked tile floor. She opened the book and read the title outloud: "The Healing Method of Sleep... Kaine! I think I found something." The girl stood up and looked around. The room was devoid of life besides her own. "Kaine...?"

Upstairs in Popola's office, Kaine filled a knapsack full of maps, a book of poems, medical herbs, jars of spices, and a notebook full of animal sketches. She felt very much accomplished. Turning to leave the room, Kaine spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She faced the object. It was a white crystal ball. Captivated, Kaine carefully put the ball into her sack and left. Spying Yonah from the second floor, she called down to Yonah. "Hey. Are you ready to go?"

Yonah looked up at Kaine, wiping the tears from her face quickly. "I thought I lost you," Yonah wanted to say. Instead, the girl nodded. "Mhm..."

"This place is a tomb..." Muttered Kaine, walking down the stairs. Yonah met her halfway and pushed her book into Kaine's bag. "I found a book on healing." she told her.

"Good for you," Kaine smiled at the girl, automatically taking hold of her hand. In silence, they stepped around the corpses and out into the sunlight. Once outside, they decided to have a little snack before they set out. They sat down in the grass and shared a piece of bread, quietly talking about different type of flowers. There were no bird-songs; only the sound of their voices.

"There were once butterflies that would pollinate the flowers and help them grow." Kaine was saying.

"Butterflies? What did they look like?" Yonah asked, chewing on her porton of bread.

"Umm...Well, they had two small powdery wings and a long body... Here-" Kaine turned and dug out one of the many books in her bag and started flipping through it. She found a black and white photo of a luna mouth, and pointed it out to her. "This one had green wings, and they only came out at night."

"Oh, it's just like the Lunar Tear! Those flowers only bloom at night, right?"

"Mhm."

"Kaine? Why are you so nice to me?" Yonah asked.

"..." Kaine stood up. "We should head out now, before it gets dark." The woman shoved the book back into the knapsack.

Yonah stood up and dusted the crumbs off of her chainmail. "All right, I'm ready."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

Side by side, Kaine and Yonah ran out of the village and down the path towards Emil's mansion. Already, the sun was starting to bleed across the earth as it descended from the sky. "Is it much further?" asked Yonah anxiously.

"No, we're almost there. Just keep running." Kaine instructed.

"But what are we running from? I don't see anything-"

Kaine held out an arm to stop Yonah, standing still. "Wait..." Kaine whispered. "Listen..." The two females looked around quietly, nearly holding their breath to listen. Something was out there. But what?

Yonah turned around, then quickly grabbed at Kaine's arm, a trembling hand pointing, Kaine grabbed at her sword and turned around to face the enemy. What she saw was a small brown rabbit. It crept out into the open, leaving it's hiding place in the bushes.

"Oh, it's... Only a rabbit." Yonah laughed nervously.

"That's not just a rabbit..." Kaine said, looking at it carefully. The rabbit stood up on it's hind legs and sniffed; it was then that Kaine and Yonah noticed the smoke leaking from it's eyes. Without wasting another second, Kaine rushed ahead, swinging out her blades. The rabbit jumped five feet into the air, letting out a terrible cry. Suddenly, the duo found themsleves surrounded by forest critters; rabbits, deer, wild pigs, and foxes. All of them were leaking and foaming at the mouth with inky darkness.

"K-Kaine-"

"Draw your sword, dummy!" Kaine snapped, backing up against Yonah.

Yonah drew out her sword, standing back to back with the woman.

A large buck started walking towards them, several foxes and rabbits flanking either side. Kaine swung her blade out threateningly, yelling, "Come on!"

Yonah took a deep breath in, tightening her grip on her own sword. She tried to be brave, knowing that luck was on their side.

A large boar ran at them from the left, it's tusks long and sharp. Yonah faced it and brought her blade down hard against the wild pig's neck, nearly severing it. The mangled animal stumbled and fell on it's side, squealing nonsense.

Yonah recovered just in time to deflect a blow from a deer's antlers. She pushed against the animal, but it surged forward, knocking Yonah to the ground.

Kaine turned and jabbed both her blades into the deer's throat, then scissored them neck in half. Gurgling, the deer sank to it's knees and died in a whisp of black smoke.

Squeaking, growling, biting, the forest animals drew closer for an attack. Kaine took Yonah's hand and helped her to stand. As the girl got to her feet, a slender fox flung itself at her legs and sank down on her shin. Yonah shrieked in fear more than pain; she kicked the fox away. A wound was left; four deep teeth marks, heavily bleeding. Kaine pulled the girl close to her chest and help her sword out defensively. The animals seemed to grow larger; black smoke swirled around them like a tornado. Against her chest, Yonah was weeping, the hands of a child clenching her waist.

Just then, a beam of fierce, purple light zapped through the herd; the remaining animals fled the scene, creeping back into the shadows of the hills.

Kaine recognized that power. Her heart aching, the woman turned and found Emil hovering just over the grass, his skeletal body concealed by the robes he wore.

"Kaine...?" Emil said softly.

"Emil..." A familiar face. A friend. She felt something warm within her rise, choking her. Kaine walked towards him, guiding Yonah to walk with her.

Trembling, Yonah slowly let go of Kaine and walked close beside her, looking ahead at the one called Emil. Kaine walked over to him and embraced him tightly. "Thank you..." she whispered.

Emil rest his large head against Kaine's shoulder. "Don't worry, everything will be all right now..." He told her. "Come on. We should go inside now before those animals come back."

Kaine nodded, stepping back. She looked at Yonah, who couldn't keep her eyes off Emil.

"What are you?" Yonah asked quietly.

"I'm part human, part machine." replied Emil. "I fused my soul with my mechanical sister a long time ago: This body of mine was the outcome..."

"We need to get inside." Kaine reminded them.

Emil nodded and turned away. "Follow me. It isn't much further."

As they followed Emil up the path to his mansion, Kaine spoke. "I'm glad you came around when you did. We would have been goners."

"No we wouldn't." said Yonah. "We had the four-leaf clover with us; we were protected."

"Right, sure..." Kaine said with effort.

"You found a four-leaf clover? Wow. That's really lucky of you." Emil spoke up cheerfully. "You're Yonah, right?" Emil turned his head towards the girl. "I'm glad you're safe."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Once they arrived to the manor (the gates of which were closed immediately) Emil lead them into the mansion and straight into the dining room. As Kaine and Yonah unloaded their weapons and armor, Emil talked: "I'm afraid Sebastion is still feeling ill, as you know from my letter. But I can fix you something to eat if you'd like."

"No thanks." said Kaine.

"I'm not hungry." Yonah answered.

"Okay... Um..." Emil hesitated.

Kaine looked up at him.

"Where is Weiss?" Emil asked.

Kaine sighed. "I don't know..." The tone of her voice suggested the worst-possible out-come."

"I see..." whispered Emil. "...I'm really sorry..."

"Aren't we all?" said Kaine. "If anyone had a clue on what the hell is going on, it would've been Weiss."

Emil set his staff against the wall and joined them at the table. Spying the knapsack full of trinkets and books, Emil said, "Have either of you found any clues on what this new disease might be?"

Kaine shook her head. "But on the bright side, we did find a few books that might be helpful," Kaine added, noticing the sadness in Yonah's eyes. "Do you want to show him?"

Yonah opened the bag and slid The Healing Method of Sleep towards Emil, who picked it up and began flipping through it with open curiosity. "This is perfect! Maybe I can find something in here to help Sebastion!"

"What's the matter with him?" asked Kaine.

"He's showing signs of a fever; he says he's burning up, but his temperature is normal." Emil answered. "It's hard for him to stand up, or move at all, for that matter. It's strange..."

Kaine hesitated. "That is strange. What do you think it might be?"

"It could be the begining stage of what has happened to the people in the library..." Yonah whispered, shuddering at the thought of those decomposed bodies.

"Or what happened to the animals." Kaine put in.

"Do you really think those two diseases are connected?" Emil asked.

"What else could it be?" asked Kaine.

"Is he coughing a lot?" Yonah walked over to Emil. "Or having difficulty breathing?"

Emil shook his head. "No."

"I want to see him." Yonah insisted.

"He may not like visiters..." Emil spoke up.

"He could be contagious." Kaine told Yonah. "Whatever he has may not affect Emil due to his current form."

"C-contagious?!" Emil stared at the two.

"Don't get your panties in a wad. I'm just saying it's better to assume he is."

Emil let out a sigh. "Kaine's right, Yonah. We should wait until we know what's wrong with him befoe we get too close; I'll continue to check on him, but for now I want us to focus on lookig for a cure."

"Just like old times..." Kaine said with a grim smile.

"What other books do you have in your bag, Kaine?" Emil asked.

Kaine opened up the bag and emptied it's contents; books, bread wrapped tightly in cloth, sheathed daggers, maps, and Yonah's diary. Emil selected a book at random and started flipping through it.

"I've been doing my own research in my library," Emil said. "But I haven't found any clues... If Weiss were here, he'd know..."

"Yeah, well, Weiss is gone, Emil." Kaine said. "You have us now."

Emil nodded, quietly scanning over the pages of the book. "I'm glad Yonah is safe and you're safe too, Kaine, but I just... I miss him. I wish he were here with us..." There was a longing within him that he did not understand; he blamed the intensity on Weiss' disapearance, not realizing it was really Nier drifting in the back of his mind that he missed.

Yonah picked up her diary and leafed through it. "My diary mentions Devola and Popola quite often... How they used to sing and help me when I had any questions... But they both turned out to be really mean in the end, didn't they?" Yonah looked up at Kaine and Emil in question.

"They weren't mean. They were just doing what they thought was right." Emil said sadly.

"i think they were both evil bitches..." muttered Kaine.

"Oh, I think I found something!" Emil hovered beside Kaine and Yonah excitedly, showing them the book. "Here, see? This paragraph talks about a tiny insect known as Yami that thrive off of animal and plant hosts. They're harmless individuals, but when they form swarms they let out a special scent that can paralzye or even kill their victims. They can also take control of their hosts if their numbers reach over a thousand."

"Yami, huh...?" Kaine mused. "How do we kill them?"

"Umm...Let me see..." Emil placed a boney finger on the page and started looking for methods of killing the insects.

"That's so scary..." whispered Yonah. "How can something so violent exist...?"

"In case you havent noticed," Kaine spoke up, her eyes cutting to the girl. "This whole world is a violent place..."

"Kaine, don't be harsh with Yonah..." Emil said empathetically.

"I wasn't being harsh, I was just stating the facts-"

"Dad..?"

Emil and Kaine looked over at Yonah, then followed her gaze to the man standing in the doorway. it was Sebastian.

"Sebastian, you should be in bed!" Emil set down the book on the table and hovered over to his butler.

"I appreciate your concern, Master Emil, but I believed it rude to stay bed-ridden when we have company. Please allow me to fix tea for everyone."

"Um..." Emil hesitated, looking over his shoulder at the girls. "Okay. Just one cup each, then go back and rest, please." Emil told him.

"As you wish," Sebastian turned and walked into the kitchen.

"Sebastian has been in service to my family long before I was born," Emil told them as he floated back to the table. "He's always been there for me. But he won't be here at all if he works himself to death..."

"Stop worrying," Kaine said gently. "He looked fine to me. Besides, fixing one pot of tea isn't going to kill him."

Yonah, sitting at the table, continued flipping through her own diary, finding it almost foreign compared to the life she was leading now.

"Did you find out how to kill the Yami?" Kaine asked.

"It's pretty complicated, but yes." Emil replied.

"Well, spit it out."

"You have to light the host on fire, then burry the remains." Emil said quietly.

"That's bullcrap." Kaine said. "Yonah and I killed the infected ram and ..." She paused. And what? What happened to the bodies? Did she even check? She wasn't sure.

Emil looked at her, waiting for her to continue. When Kaine stayed silent, he looked back down at his book. "If you kill the host, the Yami just seek out a new host."

"What does it say about infecting humans?" Kaine asked.

Just then, Sebsatian returned, carrying a tray of tea cups on one hand. He placed the tea in front of them; the steam was sweet-scented. "Your tea..." Sebastian said politely.

"Thank you," Emil said, realizing with a jolt that he couldn't drink any with his new body.

Yonah set her diary down and picked up one of the cups, breathing in the aroma. At their side, Sebstian stood watching.

Kaine's hand lashed out, knocking the teacup to the floor where it shattered.

All at once, Sebstian turned and started running; Kaine climbed onto the table and chased after him, jumping off and vanishing from sight as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Oh no! Kaine!" Emil started to follow, then stopped, watching Yonah. The girl was unsheathing a small sword, her face contorted with rage; she ran past Emil, following in Kaine's footsteps. As she passed by him, Emil had a flash of memory; a man; Yonah's father... "Nier..." Emil sunk to the floor, almost oblivious to the danger in the next room. "I... i remember you... Why aren't you here...?"

When Yonah entered the kitchen, this is what she saw: Sebstian pushed up against a wall, Kaine's blade to his throat. Both of them were breathing hard. "What did you put in our god-damn tea?!" yelled Kaine. Sebastian took a deep breath in, then sneezed; black liquid sprayed all over her face. Yelling, Kaine dropped her sword and coverd her face, stepping away from the butler.

Yonah ran into the room, holding her weapon out in front like a spear; white-blonde hair flying behind her, Yonah fell against the butler, plunging her sword deep into Sebastian's chest. In a violent sideways motion, the girl withdrew her sword; black blood poured out onto the floor, seething, smoking. Yonah dropped her sword and went to Kaine's side. "Kaine! Kaine, are you all right?"

Laying on the floor, Kaine peeked up at Yonah between her hands, afraid to reveal her face. In this position, the woman seemed even younger than Yonah; she was vulerable. Deep in her heart, she wished her Grandma was with here- just one more time- so that she would have the strength to stand on her own.

Emil, standing breathless in the doorway, recognized Kaine's demeanor: He had also hid himself from his friends, afraid of rejection, ashamed at the outcome of his body. Emil took one quick look at Sebastian's corpse and pronounced him dead; the body was already decaying... Emil went straight over to Kaine, kneeling down beside her and Yonah. Silently, he reached out and took her hands, lowering them from her face. "Kaine...?"

Shivering under his cold, dead touch, Kaine's eyes opened wider, staring at Emil with a face spotted with decay; holes had been burned deep into her skin. "W-what...?"

"I still think you're beautiful..."

Kaine blushed, covering her face. "S-shut up...Dummy..."

Emil stood up and looked over at Sebastian once more. He sighed. "I guess the disease can affect humans..." he said quietly. "I wish it didn't have to be this way..."

"Tough shit..." Kaine stood up, rejecting Yonah's hand of assistance. "What are we going to do with the body?"

"Please don't call him that..." Emil winced.

"I think we should do as the book said and burn him..." Yonah spoke up.

Kaine shot a look at Emil, who nodded slowly. "All right..." he said quietly.

Using his powers, Emil lifted Sebastian's corpse, forming a protective barrier around him so none of his eerily black blood gets on anything. They took him outside, where they gathered sticks for a fire. Within an hour, Sebstian was burning on a pyre. Near the gates, the group could see the animals prowling, wanting in. Wanting to kill; they stalked the exterior of the walls, growling underneath the moonlight.


End file.
